‘Power these days lies more with the people than the politicians.’ To what extent is this true? [GP essay] 2022 has been yet another unprecedented year in a series of unprecedented years. Russia is openly waging war on Ukraine, apparently against the wishes not only of the international community but also against the wishes of […]
How do I start with preparing for the unseen poetry section?
Very occasionally I respond to posts on Reddit, and a few days ago someone asked for notes on unseen poetry. My response: I’ve found Edward Hirsch’s writing helpful in helping my students think about poetry more deeply – https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69955/how-to-read-a-poem For unseen poetry, the band descriptors say that the best answers show a “Sensitive and informed […]
Video games and the factory worker ethic
On Tuesday I had the good fortune of meeting an airline pilot by chance, who told me something that I had suspected but never confirmed: you can learn some of the skills involved in flying a plane with certain flight simulator games (he used Microsoft’s “Flight Simulator X” himself). These games are challenging and fun, and according to […]
The cyclist who knocked down the 3-year-old boy in a park connector is an idiot.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, a speeding cyclist recently knocked down a 3-year-old boy who was jogging for the first time at a park connector (PCN) with his father. The father estimates that the cyclist was riding at 40 kmh (!) at the time. The accident knocked out one of the boy’s teeth and left him with […]
I could have used the IB’s Theory of Knowledge: my unnecessarily traumatic intellectual journey
I stumbled across one of the May 2015 Theory of Knowledge (ToK) essay titles recently, and found myself wishing that someone had asked me questions like this when I was a teenager: There is no such thing as a neutral question. Evaluate this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge. (ibo.org) I could have […]
Alamak! GE2016 coming! (A tongue in cheek guide to writing “wall of text” essays for the general reader)
tl;dr — use tl;dr paragraphs, deal with all the evidence, keep to a single idea per paragraph, don’t assume prior knowledge (assume that your reader is an idiot), end with a bang. Bonus: this is also relevant to O- and A-level students. The principles of writing are the same, just avoid the acronym (tl;dr) and […]
Why we don’t need to panic over that Temasek Junior College photograph
I understand why a conservative parent would panic if s/he sees notes for students that contain the following statement: “Discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation violates the right for all human beings to be free and equal in dignity and rights.” It is as if schools are “pro-gay” in teaching impressionable young minds. This […]
How to choose a tuition centre for your child (and how NOT to run a tuition centre)
When all tuition centres claim to have “committed” teachers, how is a parent to know who is really telling the truth? Thankfully, there’s a way to get under all the fancy marketing and advertising: win a teacher’s trust, and ask if they are happy working at the centre. I have heard too many horror stories of […]
The Problem With Singlish and Singaporean Education
A fellow tutor-blogger has just written a piece about code-switching and the mastery of languages that anyone intending to master a language should read (that’s all of you, young ones). It jogged a few thoughts about a typical Singaporean student’s experience, and how badly disadvantaged they (we) are. It is perhaps unfair to blame Singaporeans for […]
(WARNING: sappy ending) An attentive tuition teacher spots things that parents don’t
Sometimes, a tuition teacher (me) is faced with students who are, by and large, intelligent. However, they inexplicably end up doing worse on tests than his teachers and parents expect. When that happens, we have to look at the student’s life in totality, and not just concentrate on his academic performance. The things that hold students […]